I've been very lucky to come across some incredible side bets lately. I came across another I'm looking into. The side bet is the player hand totaling 20 on any first two cards dealt. The payout is completely independent of the outcome on the blackjack hand and the dealer hand. The payout is 8:1. Off the top the house has a clear advantage, but with counting this appears to have incredible upside.

Can someone with the appropriate knowledge confirm that this side bet should be profitable at a true count of 2 or greater with the following tags?

  • A:0
  • 2-9: 1
  • 10s: -2


As a nice little bonus, this count shows an insurance correlation over 98%. However, I'm only concerned with ensuring I will have a positive EV at a true count of 2 or greater.